Having even one problem drinker on your medical plan – including a covered family member with abuse issues – can cost your company big.
Some estimates place the potential cost as high as $35,000 a year per case. What’ your company’s risk?
A lot of health promotion programs are geared toward managing employees’ health risks associated with illnesses like diabetes or asthma.
But unless the health promotion program is integrated with an staff member assistance program (EAP), chances are alcohol abuse-related risks go undetected. Here are two strategies that’re getting good results.
1. Include alcohol in biometric testings
When you already sponsor confidential employee health-risk assessments, it’s easy to screen for alcohol risks, too. This may be as simple as making sure three questions are added to the current appraisal –
• How often do you’ve a drink containing alcohol?
• How many alcoholic drinks do you have on a typical day? And
• How often in the last month have you had six or more drinks?
For male staff members, more than 14 drinks per week, or one or more episodes of heavy drinking suggests a possible problem. for women, more than seven drinks in a week, or one or more episodes of drinking four or more drinks, is a red flag.
Alternative – If you don’t offer appraisals, you can refer employees to a free, confidential web-based screening.
Benchmarking tools
A lot of experts say drug-free workplace policies and worker assistance programs (EAPs) are the two most proven solutions within companies’ grasp for minimizing the risks and costs of alcohol abuse by medical plan enrollees.
To see when sponsoring an EAP makes financial sense, you are able to calculate your own firm’s current cost risk for free here. Plug in your corporation type, locale and number of staff members.
You’ll get a personalized estimate of each year direct (absenteeism, disability, ER visits) and indirect (presenteeism, turnover) costs from alcohol misuse by a covered worker or family member.
To design a drug-free workplace policy – or check when your existing one is up to par and compliant with the law – more guidance is available here.
Corporate Wellness Companies